


fly away with me

by stylinshaw



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Balloons, Crack, Established Relationship, Fluff, Insecurity, M/M, Minor Minsung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 22:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20628209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylinshaw/pseuds/stylinshaw
Summary: College AU: Changbin and Hyunjin tie balloons to their wrists so they don't lose each other at a party.





	fly away with me

**Author's Note:**

> i've been wanting to contribute to the changjin tag for like a year now and it's finally happened, in the form of this strange, self indulgent, balloon-themed crack/fluff fic! lmao
> 
> also this is being posted on jisung's birthday! happy birthday to our multitalented legend <3
> 
> title: fly away with me - nct 127
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“Come _ on, _hyung,” Hyunjin wheedles. Changbin shakes his head resolutely, mind made up. 

“I’m not going for the party, okay,” he says. “Chan hyung and Minho hyung are hosting. Do you know what that means, Hyunjinnie? That means the entire arts faculty will be there at the _ least. _My social battery isn’t charged enough for that.” 

“Hyung,” Hyunjin says, simply. It’s at this point that Changbin makes the mistake of looking up at his boyfriend, catching sight of his thick lips jutting out in an over-exaggerated pout. “You don’t need to talk to anyone other than me.” 

“I know how it goes down at these kinds of parties, Jinnie,” Changbin sighs. “We’ll be together for all of five minutes before one of us is swept away by the crowd. We’ll only be able to reunite tomorrow morning. Do you want that, _ Hwang? _Do you want to be away for me for an entire night? Or do you want to stay in, cuddle, and watch a movie?” 

Hyunjin bites down on his lower lip, looking unsure. Success, Changbin thinks to himself. He’s started thinking of movies to watch by the time Hyunjin speaks up again. 

“How about we...come up with a way to not lose each other there,” he says. “Like our phones! We’ll always have them on us, anyway.”

“It’s going to be too loud, we’re not going to hear the ringing,” Changbin fires back smugly. “And let’s be real, neither of us are going to be staring at our phones the entire night.” 

Hyunjin deflates at Changbin’s words. Changbin does feel _ kind _ of bad for not just caving in, but the thought of a movie night at this point is more than just a plain old _ movie night- _ it’s a _ victory. _

“How about we handcuff ourselves together?” Hyunjin asks. 

“I think we both know that that’s a terrible idea,” Changbin says. “Face it, Jinnie, there’s no way for us to go without inevitably getting separated.”

Hyunjin frowns, turning his body away from Changbin to face the other side of the room. He must be sulking, Changbin thinks fondly. It’s okay, he’ll spoil Hyunjin with cuddles _ and _makeouts. 

“I have an idea.”

Changbin rolls his eyes. “Hyunjin-” 

Hyunjin turns around. “Balloons.”

“Balloons?” Changbin echoes. Hyunjin merely points to a bunch of leftover, deflated balloons lying on their coffee table, from some kind of event that he had been decorating for. 

“How are we supposed to use those?” Changbin asks, maybe a tiny bit irritably. He wants to curl up and watch a fucking movie, goddammit. 

“Tie them to our wrists!” Hyunjin exclaims. Changbin pauses, waiting for some kind of indication that his lover is joking. None appear.

“What are we, twelve?” he scoffs. 

“Hear me out, hyung,” Hyunjin says. “Whenever we’re separated, all we have to do is look for the floating balls of rubber hovering over everybody in the room. Instant locator.”

“Hyunjin,” Changbin says. “That’s fucking stupid.”

Hyunjin runs a hand through his hair, sliding closer to Changbin. _ “Hyung,” _ he purrs. The switch from his normal, cutesy voice to the darker, more sensual tone he’s adapting now has Changbin _ sort of _ reeling, if he’s being completely honest. “I really want to go to this party. And I really want to bring those so-called _ stupid _balloons.” He concludes his statement with a chaste press of his annoying, plump lips against the corner of Changbin’s own, lingering for enough time for Changbin to chase after his mouth when he pulls away. 

Well, then. Changbin supposes he’s fallen prey to Hwang Hyunjin’s charms once again. 

“Fine, we’ll do the dumb balloon thing,” he grouses. “But only if you kiss me properly.”

“Awesome!” Cute Hyunjin is back in an instant, clapping his hands excitedly. He leans forward to kiss Changbin square on the lips this round, cupping the back of his head as he does so. “Go get dressed, Binnie hyung. I’ll inflate the balloons.”

He skips away, leaving Changbin feeling vaguely like he’s been played.

“Guys! So glad you could make it,” Chan says happily, once he’s opened the door. The house seems to be almost vibrating with the intensity of the music playing, and Changbin can see the crowdedness of the makeshift dance floor. Hyunjin beams, looking unfairly gorgeous in his red button down tucked into black skinny jeans, and pulls Changbin in. 

“Hey, nice balloons,” someone hollers as the two of them make their way into the house. Well, there goes Changbin’s assumption that people would make fun of them for having real life _ balloons _on their wrists. He’d forgotten to factor in the fact that everyone would be too drunk to care. He follows Hyunjin into the kitchen, where the younger proceeds to open Chan’s refrigerator and help himself to an ice-cold bottle of coke. 

“See, hyung? We’re together right now. All because of this beautiful balloon.”

“I literally followed you in here,” Changbin deadpans. No time for semantics, he supposes. Hyunjin unscrews the cap on his bottle and takes a hefty swig, before passing it over to Changbin. The door to the kitchen opens, and two other people stumble in. 

“Changbin hyung!” It’s Jisung, one of Changbin’s best friends in the entire world, and hopefully his future co-worker as well- 

Changbin squashes that train of thought before it can continue any further- he hasn’t told Hyunjin yet. Jisung is draped around a surprisingly sober-looking Minho, with a plastic cup of who-knows-what clutched in one of his hands.

“Sungie,” he says. “Minho hyung. Hey. Not drinking tonight?”

“Maybe later,” Minho shrugs. “I’m kind of watching over Chan’s place so it doesn’t get too trashed, you know how it is.” 

Changbin nods. Jisung unwraps himself from Minho’s body, and throws himself onto Changbin’s. 

“I’m kind of drunk,” he says. 

“Yeah, I could tell,” Changbin replies. 

“I like your balloon,” Jisung says. He tugs at the string attached to the balloon aimlessly for a couple of seconds, before letting it go. 

“I like our balloons as well,” Hyunjin says. “Also, hey guys. Thanks for noticing me.” 

“Oh, Hyunjinnie,” Minho says. “You have a balloon as well. Are we in grade school again? Do I get a balloon too?”

_ “Oooooh, _I want one too,” Jisung drawls. 

“No, Minho hyung, it’s so Changbin and I can find each other whenever we want, no matter where we are,” Hyunjin responds proudly. He sounds far too enthusiastic about their stupid balloons considering the fact that he hasn’t had a single drink. “Anyway, Binnie hyung, I think I see Felix, I’m going to go say hi. But you can find me whenever, because of my-”

“-balloon,” Changbin says. He doesn’t want to admit, but he sort of _ does _feel a little more secure, knowing that Hyunjin’s balloon will always be visible to him, no matter where he is. Hyunjin smiles softly before leaning in to drop a kiss on Changbin’s forehead. 

“I’ll go with you too, Jinnie, I haven’t seen Felix in ages,” Minho says. He turns to Jisung, runs a hand through the younger boy’s hair gently. “You take care, okay, Sungie?”

“Mmm, love you, Minho hyung,” Jisung slurs in reply. Minho freezes, mouth slightly agape. Changbin thinks he might be about to say something, but Hyunjin pulls him away from the kitchen, into the throes of the crowd.

“And then there were two,” Changbin mutters. If he cranes his neck to the side, he can see Hyunjin’s balloon bobbing away from the doorway. 

“Changbin hyung, we’re going to be an awesome band someday,” Jisung says, seemingly unaware that he had just confessed his love to his crush of two years like, five seconds earlier. “You, me, and Chan hyung. We’re going to take over the world.” 

Changbin feels the familiar swoop of uncertainty in his stomach, the one that happens every time he thinks of this topic. It’s immediately replaced by the feeling of anticipation, however. As long as he keeps holding on to the fact that they _ could _take over the world, he’s good. 

“I don’t think we’d be a band, though,” he muses out loud, watching as Jisung opens one of Chan’s cabinets randomly, peering inside. “I think we’d refer to ourselves as a hip-hop trio. I don’t know what we could name ourselves, though…” 

“Sriracha!” Jisung pulls the familiar red bottle from the cupboard. Changbin blinks, as Jisung holds the bottle up triumphantly. “Sorry, hyung, what were you saying? I couldn’t quite hear you.”

“Never mind,” Changbin says, as his eyes follow the bottle of sauce held in Jisung’s grasp. “I think you just gave me an idea.” 

He tilts his head to the side again to look out of the doorway, and sure enough, he sees Hyunjin’s balloon floating above everything, a constant assurance of his presence in the chaos of the room. 

“You know what, Jisungie?” he says, feeling fearless, all of a sudden. “We _ are _going to take over the world.” 

Changbin finds himself mostly hanging out with Jisung for the rest of the night, and doesn’t really end up drinking a lot- it had been far more entertaining to watch Jisung sober up as he switched out his alcoholic drinks for water, eventually spluttering out a horrified _ Did I fucking confess to Minho hyung? _out loud in the middle of one of their conversations. Hyunjin’s balloon remains in Changbin’s peripheral vision throughout the night, which surprisingly does quite a bit to assuage his anxiety about losing the younger boy in the crowd.

They’re sprawled out on the floor at some point when Changbin’s bladder finally catches up to him. 

“I’m going to the washroom,” he informs Jisung, who nods without looking up from his phone. Changbin quickly heads to the washroom, does his business, washes up and returns to the living room, where he finds Jisung, now joined by Chan. 

Changbin looks around for Hyunjin’s balloon.

It’s nowhere to be found.

Fear immediately seizes Changbin’s gut. _ Be calm, _ his brain tells him. _ Hyunjin might have gone outside. Or he could be in the kitchen. Or he could be literally anywhere outside of your line of sight. _Changbin turns in a full circle, eyes scanning the room, but his boyfriend is nowhere to be seen.

“Changbinnie! Sit down,” Chan hollers from his spot on the ground. Changbin thinks his breath might be coming in faster spurts, but he’s not entirely sure. The music is either getting louder or quieter, but Changbin can’t be bothered to figure out which one it is. His palms are getting clammy. 

“Changbin hyung!” Changbin blinks rapidly, to see Jisung standing in front of him, eyes blown wide open with worry. Chan stands next to him, looking equally concerned.

“What’s wrong, Binnie?” Chan says gently. Changbin finds himself relaxing at his friend’s calming tone of voice, letting out a deep breath. 

“I can’t see Hyunjin’s balloon,” he says quietly. He watches Chan and Jisung turn around, looking around the room, before turning back to him. 

“It’s okay, his balloon might have popped or gotten detached, or something,” Chan says soothingly. He slings an arm around Changbin’s shoulders, squeezing them gently. “What’s gotten you this worked up?”

“I don’t want to lose him,” Changbin says. Suddenly, every single one of his worries, his insecurities from earlier is rushing back.

“It’s freezing outside, I don’t think he would have gone out. He’s probably in here somewhere,” Jisung says, reaching out to rub at Changbin’s arm comfortingly. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”

“No, I meant,” Changbin coughs, to cover up the tears forming in his eyes. “I don’t want to lose him- when we-”

_ “Oh,” _Jisung and Chan say simultaneously, sadness crossing their expressions. Changbin can sense that they’re about to launch into some kind of motivational speech of some sort, and gets mentally prepared for it- he could use the reassurance right about now. 

Except the speech never comes, because-

“Changbin hyung!” 

Changbin whips around, and sure enough, there’s Hyunjin, with his red shirt now half-untucked from his jeans, bounding towards them happily. The lack of a balloon adorning his wrist is glaringly obvious to Changbin, making him wonder how he’d developed such an attachment to it when he was supposed to be hating the damn thing. 

“Hyung, I had an awesome time catching up with Felix! We should go- hang on,” he skids to a stop in front of the trio, expression turning alarmed. “Hyung, what’s wrong? What is it?” 

“It’s not a big deal, Jinnie,” Changbin sighs, because he doesn’t really know how to explain what’s going on through his head right now. Hyunjin steps forward, brushing away the stray tears on Changbin’s cheeks with the pads of his fingertips. 

“It’s a big deal to me if you’re upset, baby,” he murmurs. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“Okay,” Changbin sniffs. “Your balloon went missing. I sort of...panicked.” 

“Oh, hyung, I’m sorry,” Hyunjin says. “I didn’t notice it floating into one of the photo frames on the wall earlier. It popped instantly. But is that really what’s got you this upset? My balloon popping?” 

“I-” Changbin reaches out, links his fingers with Hyunjin’s. It’s now or never. 

“I’m dropping out of college.”

Hyunjin steps back, shock overtaking his features. “What?” he utters. Changbin feels his eyes well up immediately. Jisung and Chan slowly back away, probably to give them some space.

“I fucking hate doing Accounting,” he says. Tears roll down his cheeks at a steady pace this time, but he makes no attempt to stop them. “I live for the moments I get to produce music with Chan hyung and Jisungie. And I’m willing to drop everything to give our dream a shot.” His hands are shaking. He wonders if Hyunjin has noticed. 

“Changbin hyung,” Hyunjin breathes. “You know I’ll support you endlessly in whatever you do. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Changbin’s shoulders sag with relief at the sound of his boyfriend’s encouraging words. “I didn’t think you’d want to be with some loser college dropout,” he mutters. “Plus, we would be seeing each other less. I guess I saw the balloon and thought that even if we were apart, I’d still know that you were with me in a small way. Once the balloon disappeared…” 

Hyunjin gasps, untangling his hand from Changbin’s to cup his cheeks instead. “Hyung, have you thought this through?” he asks seriously. Changbin nods- it’s all he’s been thinking about for literal months now. “Then you aren’t a loser college dropout to me. It takes strength to go after your dreams like that, especially when it’s in such a competitive environment. I’ll be by your side no matter what, hyung. Please don’t talk about yourself in that way again.” 

Changbin melts into Hyunjin’s touch at the words. He’d probably known deep down that Hyunjin was too kindhearted to be anything but supportive, but insecurities could be a bitch to deal with. “Thank you, Jinnie,” he says softly, standing on his toes to press his lips to Hyunjin’s. Hyunjin wraps his arms around Changbin’s waist immediately, kissing back with equal fervour. When Changbin pulls away, he tucks his head into the crook of Hyunjin’s neck. 

“Balloon or not, I’m not going anywhere, hyung,” Hyunjin murmurs into Changbin’s hair. Changbin laughs, giddy with relief and the buzz of the vodka he’d had earlier during the party. 

“My heart balloons whenever I’m with you,” he says, going for cheesy and landing closer to _ cringe_. 

Hyunjin pulls away. “Okay, I’m leaving,” he says, face dropping into a visible grimace. “Hey, before I leave…” he reaches out and pulls at the string connecting Changbin’s own balloon to his wrist, watching as the balloon flies into the ceiling. “I don’t think you’ll be needing this anymore.” 

Changbin can't help but agree.

**Author's Note:**

> i got the idea for this fic from [this prompt generator](https://prompts.neocities.org/)! it's really helpful for generating ideas :D
> 
> thank you so much for reading! comments/kudos are LOVE <3


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